After the flood of violence on November 2, the tribe of Roh prepares the Red snapper festival.
In a paper published on November 5, we reported the violence perpetrated in the Roh tribe located on the island of Maré, New Caledonia. Several houses and a bed and breakfast had been burned down.
Following this outbreak of violence, 122 people, including many children, left their tribe. They lost everything. “We thought we were going to die,” explains a witness in the Nouvelles calédoniennes, the daily newspaper of New Caledonia. ” It was a manhunt. They burned my house and the car I used to take my children to school. We couldn’t take anything! We just had time to flee.”
Gendarmes avoided the worst
The attackers numbered about 200 and were armed with swords, axes and rocks. Fortunately, the gendarmes arrived in time to avoid the worst.
The conflict began with the appointment of a young student pastor who did not meet with the unanimous approval of the church’s faithful. The installation of this pastor did not respect the rules in force.
This young man, originally from Maré, proclaimed himself pastor even though he does not have to do so, even though he is at home. Only the EPKNC (Protestant Church of Kanaky New Caledonia) can officially install a pastor.
There is no doubt that the pastor in question and those who followed him committed a fault with regard to religious institutions. However, it’s equally obvious that this cannot justify all this violence.
Very old conflicts
Of course, this story is only a spark that explodes a bomb. Some will even say that it is only a pretext to manifest one’s hatred in an island where joie de vivre and life close to nature hide ancient customary conflicts. Conflicts where custom, religion, politics and invisible forces are mixed together…
While the outcasts are trying to recover from the shock, the Roh tribe is preparing the organization of the Red snapper festival, which is to take place on Friday, November 13. As if nothing had ever happened.
